taint

[ teynt ]

/ teɪnt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taint ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a trace of something bad, offensive, or harmful.

a trace of infection, contamination, or the like.

a trace of dishonor or discredit.

Obsolete. color; tint.

verb (used with object)

to modify by or as if by a trace of something offensive or deleterious.

to infect, contaminate, corrupt, or spoil.

to sully or tarnish (a person's name, reputation, etc.).

Obsolete. to color or tint.

verb (used without object)

to become tainted; spoil.

Nearby words

tain, tainan, taine, taine, hippolyte adolphe, taino, untainted, taintless, taintlessly, taipan, taipei, taiping

Origin of taint

1325–75; conflation of Middle English taynt, aphetic variant of attaint struck, attainted, past participle of attainten to attaint; late Middle English taynt hue, tint < Anglo-French teint (< Latin tinctus, equivalent to ting(ere) to dye, tinge + -tus suffix of v. action); and teinte < Late Latin tincta inked stroke, noun use of feminine of past participle of tingere

SYNONYMS FOR taint

1 defect, spot, flaw, fault.

1, 7 blemish, stain.

6 defile, pollute, poison.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR taint ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·taint·ed, adjectiveun·taint·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for untainted

Big critic Neil Barofsky was ‘untainted by financial knowledge.’
Speed Read: The Juiciest Bits From Timothy Geithner’s New Memoir|William O’Connor|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He and his band are untainted by political skullduggery and economic interest, not to mention accusations of theft.
Voting For Yair Lapid, Israel’s Maimonides|Rabbi Daniel Landes|February 4, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Short on experience but untainted by Washington, this one is in touch with the people.
She Is Running!|Mark McKinnon|July 14, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Unfortunately, Republicans will do their best to run candidates in swing districts who are untainted by the Bush years.
Heckuvajob, Napolitano|Reihan Salam|December 29, 2009|DAILY BEAST

She lives her own pure and loving life, unharmed and untainted, though all men fall off from her.
Curious, if True|Elizabeth Gaskell
It was a short and merry feast, yet not untainted with the Celtic sadness which all the Welsh folk feel at happy moments.
The Angel|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
Some are in the woods, known only to the birds and beasts which live in them, and come daily to drink the pure, untainted waters.
The Naturalist on the Thames|C. J. Cornish
By that character such personages have been denied the possession of any influence whatever over the untainted soul.
The Germ|Various
His piety is as untainted as his purity; it is the maiden-service of a maiden-saint.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol II of 2)|John Addington Symonds

British Dictionary definitions for untainted (1 of 2)

untainted

/ (ʌnˈteɪntɪd) /

adjective

not tarnished, contaminated, or pollutedhe was untainted by the scandal

British Dictionary definitions for untainted (2 of 2)

taint

/ (teɪnt) /

verb

to affect or be affected by pollution or contaminationoil has tainted the water

to tarnish (someone's reputation, etc)

noun

a defect or flawa taint on someone's reputation

a trace of contamination or infection

Derived Formstaintless, adjective

Word Origin for taint

C14: (influenced by attaint infected, from attain) from Old French teindre to dye, from Latin tingere to dye

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for untainted (1 of 2)

untainted

adj.

1580s, in the moral sense; c.1600 in the physical sense; from un- (1) "not" + past participle of taint (v.).

Word Origin and History for untainted (1 of 2)

taint

1570s, "to corrupt, contaminate," also "to touch, tinge, imbue slightly" (1590s), from Middle English teynten "to convict, prove guilty" (late 14c.), partly from Old French ataint, past participle of ataindre "to touch upon, seize" (see attainder). Also from Anglo-French teinter "to color, dye" (early 15c.), from Old French teint (12c.), past participle of teindre "to dye, color," from Latin tingere (see tincture). Related: Tainted; tainting.

taint

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of taint

Examples from the Web for untainted

British Dictionary definitions for untainted (1 of 2)

untainted

adjective

British Dictionary definitions for untainted (2 of 2)

taint

verb

noun

Word Origin for taint

Word Origin and History for untainted (1 of 2)

untainted

Word Origin and History for untainted (1 of 2)

taint